Water Conservation in Avocado Farming

The world has a growing love for avocados, and as the demand for this superfood increases, the environmental and social implications of its production are becoming more critical. The avocado industry is under increasing scrutiny for its environmental impact, with concerns about water usage, deforestation, and social inequality in farming communities sparking important discussions.

How Are We Tackling Global Sustainability Challenge of Water?

In avocado-producing countries such as Mexico, Peru, and Chile, there is a shift towards regenerative agricultural practices that aim to reduce water consumption and enhance soil health. There is a lot of information in the public domain about how much water is required to grow an avocado. However, these are generally broad statements with not too much detail of the science behind them. 

More importantly these broad statements do not define where the water comes from, whether it be, rivers, ground water, dams or simply rainfall.  Surely this is an important factor to understand the environmental and social impact of avocado production.

At Kakuzi we have invested in 19 earth dams that holds the rainfall that falls on our land.  The rainfall recharges our dams with 13 million cubic meters of water annually.   Just to put that in perspective, this is the equivalent of 5,200 Olympic size swimming pools.

Effectively Kakuzi is self-sufficient in water, and we don’t have to use Rivers or ground water to irrigate our crops.But for our dams to fill with water we must have carefully managed water catchments.  These optimise the recharge of water into the dams, whilst at the same time filtering the water, through the grass lands and trees, prevent siltation of the dam.

At Kakuzi, we have adopted micro jet irrigation across all of our irrigated avocado and macadamia operations.  Every tree has its own dedicated micro sprinkler which applies water to exactly where it is required, the root zone.  This has greatly decreased our water consumption while ensuring optimal growing conditions for each avocado.

What This Means for the Future

By adopting sustainable water practices, we are in a stronger position to cushion our crops from the impact of climate change

Through these initiatives, Kakuzi is not only meeting global standards but also setting new benchmarks for the region. The outcomes are evident: increased production, reduced environmental impact, and stronger community connections.

Chris Flowers, Managing Director, Kakuzi Plc